Integrated circuits (ICs) typically comprise numerous circuit components interconnected to perform the desired functions. Such circuit components include, for example, transistors. A transistor may include a gate between source and drain regions. To form the source and drain regions, dopants are implanted into the substrate. The implanted dopants need to be electrically activated. Activation, for example, can be achieved by subjecting the substrate to high temperatures, such as annealing.
As technology continues to scale, for example, to 65 nm or below, laser based anneals, have been developed to address needs of ultra-low thermal budgets demands. However, we have discovered that laser-based annealing can result in non-uniformity or a wide variation in resistance within the wafer. Such non-uniformity or variations in resistance is undesirable because it adversely affects the uniformity of the device performance across the wafer. This could have a detrimental effect on the product yield.